SCHOOL PROJECT WINS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

COMPETITION PROMOTED BY THE ILÍDIO PINHO FOUNDATION

The idea behind the creation of the "Seismological Box" prototype arose from the pedagogical experience with pre-school children, the interest and motivation of children for scientific and experimental activities, and the lack of educational resources to explain the earthquakes to children.
The winning project included the contribution of the Instituto Dom Luiz (Luis Matias and José Luis Duarte), with the support of the European Center for Urban Risks (CERU), Science4you and the Municipal Civil Protection Service of Sintra. In the elaboration of one of the contents, the help of the "Energy Workshops" animated by the students of the Geographic Engineering, Geophysics and Energy Department of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, was fundamental.
The educational project was developed in the 2016/17 school year and involved the 153 children of the seven pre-school education rooms, Jardim de Infância do Cacém no. 1, EB1 / JI de Vale Mourão and EB1 de Ribeiro de Carvalho (in Sintra county). The team was formed by the seven childhood educators, the coordinator of the project 'Safety in the School and in the Community', by the 'Science in the School' Projects director and by the Projects representative in the Pedagogical Council of the school group.
It was a great challenge that made possible to "develop an innovative educational resource that materializes Earth and tectonic plates, reinforces the Knowledge of the World, brings children closer to Science and Technology, explores the Emergency Kit and promotes the desired behaviors in situations of risk", in the words of the promoters. They also add that "the children put all their goodwill and creative spirit. They gave wings to the imagination and created the constituents of the Emergency Kit, which served as the basis for the seven games of the Box. The innovative side of this prototype and the scientific and experimental matrix that characterize it are an asset for children and their educators".
In a ceremony held in Coimbra, the 1st Prize was awarded to the educator Diva Carvalho, coordinator of the Project, by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the presence of Ilídio Pinho (president of the Foundation), Minister of Education Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, the mayor of Coimbra (and the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities), Manuel Machado, and the director of the School group, António Gouveia.

Award Ceremony and Project presentation

The first prize was delivered by the President of the Republic to the coordinator of the Project Diva Carvalho, in the presence of the Minister of Education, the president of the Ilídio Pinho Foundation, the mayor of Coimbra, and the director of the School group.

Lagos, April 3 and 4, 2017

WORKSHOP ON TSUNAMI RISK PREVENTION
IN HOTELS AND BEACH CONCESSIONS

A workshop on tsunami risk prevention for hotel and tourism facilities, as well as for establishments that have concessions on the beaches, was held in Lagos (Algarve), Portugal.
The workshop was attent by 46 people, including four international experts (from Puerto Rico, Morocco, Italy and Malta) that presented the measures implemented in other countries in the field of tsunami prevention in touristic coastal areas. Representatives from all the public entities that have some responsibility on the mitigation of the tsunami risk at the beach also attent the workshop: Municipal Civil Protection Services, Municipal political authorities, the National and Harbour Maritime Authority (AMN), the Algarve Touristic Council (RTA), the National Civil Protection (ANPC), the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and the regional Red Cross (CVP). The workshop also gathered concerned citizens, lifeguards, one NGO dedicated to prevent drowning at the beach and to promote swimming skills among the school population and four participants representing the private sector working for one marina, a beach concession, an hotel and one nautical club. The conclusions and recommendations resulting from this workshop will improve the preparedness to accomplish the ultimate goal of promoting tsunami awareness and preparedness for the hotel managers and beach concessionaires.
The tsunami signaling, concerning tsunami warning, evacuation routes and concentration point, implemented in Praia da Batata (Lagos), was also evaluated. Recommendations to improve its visibility and applicability will be useful for the implementation of this type of signaling in other beaches.

The workshop is organized by CERU
with the support of Lagos Town Hall

See the vídeo on the CERU webpage gallery
http://www.ceru-europa.pt/en/galeria.php

ICUR 2016

International Conference on Urban Risks

This conference presented a unique set of interdisciplinary topics related to urban hazards, ranging from risk management concepts and methods to risk assessment for a variety of urban risks induced by natural and/or technological events and with effects on the environment, health and the society in general. Topics related with risk mitigation and communication were also addressed.
The opening session was attended by the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Dr. Jorge Gomes, the Commander of the Firefighters Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Pedro Patrício, the Administrator of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Dr. José Pedro Cabral dos Santos, and the President of the European Center for Urban Risks, Paula Teves Costa.
Four distinguished guest speakers greatly contributed for the success of the conference: Paola Albrito (UNISDR), Susan Cutter (University of South Carolinal), David Alexander (University College London) and Carlos Sousa Oliveira (University of Lisbon).
In the first two days, 135 papers (oral and poster) were presented by authors from 17 countries (from Europe, Asia, North and South America). It was attended by 152 participants from the academic, political, business and institutional worlds. This Conference had the peculiarity of having been bilingual (Portuguese and English).
On the third day, four technical visits were made to the Historic Center of Lisbon, where participants had the opportunity to observe situations of different risks (seismic risk, fire risk, social risks, tourist risks, urban rehabilitation risks and others).

Caixa Geral de Depósitos was the main sponsor of this Conference, that was also sponsored by EDP Distribuição, the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) and the Portuguese Association of Insurers (APS).

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE ON

https://www.ceru-europa.pt/icur2016/